The leadership of the trade union movement is set for a major shakeup after the secretary and president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions announced their surprise departures.
The ACTU’s secretary, Sally McManus, and its president, Michele O’Neil, revealed on Monday night they would be stepping down after eight years together. Anthony Albanese described both as personal friends and “giants of the labour movement”.
The first all-female leadership team in the ACTU’s ۹۹-year history, the influential pair played a major role in shaping the Albanese government’s workplace agenda.
They successfully campaigned for the right to disconnect law, same job, same pay protections, wage theft criminalisation and ensuring minimum pay, insurance and safety standards for gig economy workers.
The ACTU recently began targeting Pauline Hanson, in a clear sign the union movement now considers One Nation – rather than the Coalition – the biggest political threat to Labor and economic risk for working people.
McManus will depart in August while O’Neil will help the new secretary settle in before leaving before the end of the year.
In a farewell video posted to social media on Monday night, the pair said it was time for renewal.
“Union membership is growing and workers have over ۴۷ new workplace rights,” McManus said. “But, of course, there are still big challenges with cost-of-living pressures, AI and billionaires who have too much wealth and power.”
In a statement, the prime minister said McManus and O’Neil’s “tireless advocacy and strong leadership” had put working families “in a stronger financial position today than they would otherwise be”.
“It is fitting that Sally and Michele announce they’re stepping down from their respective positions at a time when there have been significant wage increases in critical and long-undervalued sectors, the gender pay gap is at a record low and union membership is growing for the first time in decades,” Albanese said.
Speaking to ABC radio’s RN breakfast on Tuesday morning, O’Neil said it was the “right time” to leave, and that new leadership would be “the best thing for workers” and the “best thing for the union movement”.
